This week, Secret Society caught up with Moose, the women’s ultimate frisbee team and players Biebs, Lindy, and Trudge had a lot to share about their summer activities.

How is your summer going?

Trudge: “Swell, but I’m ready to be back in East Lansing.”

Biebs: “My summer is splendid, thanks for asking. Right now, I’m finishing up five weeks in London, and then I’m going to a few other countries in Europe before I head home. I wish it was a little warmer here, but other than that I have no complaints.”

Lindy: “My summer is going well. Muskegon is definitely not as fun as East Lansing, but I’m still having a relaxing time.”

What is your offseason like? From what it looks like, it appears that you play ultimate all year round?

Trudge: “Summer could be considered the offseason. I definitely don’t play as much, but I’m still trying to keep with it so that I don’t lose what I’ve gained over the past year in terms of basic skill.”

Biebs: “Yeah, ultimate has it’s offseason. In the summer, you can play either club ultimate or just join a summer league. This means that you can play co-ed, which is something that is currently unavailable to players during the school year. I love co-ed, it’s how I learned to play ultimate. There’s something different about playing with both guys and girls. To me it can be a lot of fun because it’s a totally different game. It’s a great way to meet people.”

Lindy: “There is an offseason for ultimate. During the summer, you can either sign up for summer league, or you can try out for a club team which is much more competitive than summer league. Playing in the summer isn’t required, but it’s strongly encouraged because you can improve a lot from it.”

Is there any type of training that you do over the summer besides playing in tournaments?

Trudge: “As far as training goes, I’ve been doing more than anticipated. I tried out for a mixed club team out of Grand Rapids and made it but decided to just join their practice team. Most of the players on that team are long term veterans of the game who have been playing for a long time, so it’s pretty high caliber and I’m not that used to it yet. I practice with them usually twice a week and it helps a lot because they’re all so advanced and really help me improve as a player. I also have been playing summer league which is a laid back one-night-a-week thing. I’m a captain too so that’s kinda fun. Basically, it’s just like pick up only a bit more intense and organized.”

Biebs: “During the summer, I usually run and go to the gym when I can. This summer though, I’ve been doing a lot of walking and hiking abroad. Mostly because running in a big city is nearly impossible.”

Lindy: “I go to the gym and try to stay in shape in a general sense, and I try to toss with a friend to get my throws better.”

Lindy and Trudge, I heard you guys had a tournament this past weekend. How did it go?

Lindy: “The tournament this weekend went well. Our team Bob Marlin is brand new this year, so I didn’t go into it expecting much. I was pleasantly surprised at how well we did and how much fun we had. There is a ton of room for improvement of course, but it was really nice to just get out there again and play with a bunch of my friends from the East Lansing area.”

Trudge: “It went really well I thought. I personally couldn’t go to any practices due to snow day and work, etc., but I felt like we played pretty good as a team as far as females go. I had a really great time and it was really fun to see everyone again. We didn’t place too high, but there’s definitely room for improvement.”

Individually, do you feel like you have improved since last season?

Trudge: “I definitely feel like I’ve improved. Playing three times a week especially with more experienced players has helped me a lot. I feel like I’m able to read the field better and become a more effective player on defense.”

Biebs: “I think that right now, I’m looking to improve even more before I get back in the fall. There’s still a lot of the summer left, and I want to come back in even better shape than before I left.”

Lindy: “I think I’ve been improving a little bit for sure, but summer isn’t over yet. I still want to get even better before fall. I mostly have been working on my confidence as a handler, and field awareness in general, and I feel like I’ve improved in those areas.”

Lastly, going into this upcoming school year, what are you expectations for the ultimate team?

Trudge: “Mainly just to have a good time and improve as a team. I want to do well in tournaments, but don’t want to have unrealistic expectations as far as placing goes just due to the fact that we graduated a lot of seniors and the rookie class is up in the air right now. I just want to improve as a team and enjoy myself with everyone else.”

Biebs: “I’m hoping to get another fantastic rookie class this year. My rookie class (from two years ago), is down to three of us, but we were lucky enough to have a great set of rookies last year. I’m hoping that we can recruit even more girls this year, and that our team as a whole can get closer. We are always excited about new recruits, and I hope that we can make our new rookie class feel like they’re part of our family. Now that we have a decent amount of veterans, I’m hoping to get our name on the map this year, and to push ourselves to do well in tournaments. I know that we have the talent to succeed as a team, we just need to be focused and leave it all on the field.”

Lindy: “My expectations for our team is to recruit another huge rookie class like we had last year. Another expectation of mine is to make all the rookies feel welcome and at home with our team. Also, I want my teammates and myself included to show even more dedication and commitment toward improving their skills on the field.”

Moose, the women’s ultimate frisbee team, is just one of many club sports at MSU. For more on Moose and all things club sports, visit impact89fm.org/sports and tune in to Secret Society with Bradley Allen each Wednesday.

Romero Hardy is a multimedia journalist for Impact Sports.

Photo: Michigan State University Women’s Ultimate Frisbee